Cop Car
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsay and lots of Lucy! Set waaay aftet the season 9 finale. “Do you have any idea how sick I feel, lookin’ at you in the back of a cop car with your hands in cuffs? I swear to God Lucy, you better have a good explanation for this.”


**A/N So, A little fun fact. I've loved this song for years. Listened to it so many times and always thought it'd be the perfect inspiration for a story but could never quite get it to work. Until a couple of days ago ... Inspiration hit at the gym and it was very much a _well duh, _moment. **

**Also, small disclaimer my creative license was used during this story. Without giving too much away, in my little DL heart, they have three kids. Let that be a little clue as to the story content I guess! **

**Also, as a little side note. I am so loving playing with these guys again! I'm currently on season 5 of my rewatch and I have missed these characters so, so much! Definitely have a deeper appreciation for everything now! Took lots for granted back in the day. It's honestly so nice to be watching it with fresh eyes! **

**Anyway... enough of my rambles. I guess my diary entry author notes will never change! **

**On with the story! **

—

_Man they weren't playing, they sure put those cuffs on quick. You tried to sweet talk him but he didn't fall for it, but I did. You were on the left, I was on the right. I know you didn't smoke when you asked him for a light. I laughed; he got mad and slammed the door. I swear your daddy's gonna kill me._

_-Cop Car, Sam Hunt. _

_—_

_Set waaaaaaay after the season 9 finale_.

—

He looked all around him, taking in his surroundings. For some reason he didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Listen, are you sure about this? We could always-"

She rolled her eyes. "How many times do I need to tell you? You're such a goofball!"

"I just- I don't know whether this is such a good idea."

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," he told her. "I guess I… fine, sure." He watched her disappear out of his car door and she was straight onto the hood. He exhaled and attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. _Why did he have to fall for such a wildflower?_

"You comin'?"

He killed the engine and shoved the keys into his pocket. He followed her out of the car and settled on the hood next to her.

The first time they'd come here, they hadn't been together long. They'd chickened out after seeing the warning signs, prohibiting trespassing. He couldn't risk it, not with her. They'd get into way too much trouble. For her though? He'd do anything.

He'd admired her from far away for a hell of a long time. She was cute, kind, popular… and waaaay out of his league. He'd eventually got enough courage to introduce himself one day in the line at lunch. She'd smiled at him, and told him she already knew who he was. She'd then invited him to sit with her. She'd said her friends had papers they needed to finish and she was eating alone anyway. When he'd asked her about her own homework, she'd just shrugged and told him she did this revolutionary thing where she did homework _at_ _home_. It wasn't even that funny… but he'd ended up nearly choking on his milk. After that,.he added funny to the list of adjectives he used to describe her.

From then on, they had little lunch dates daily. They'd flirted, teased one another. He'd pulled on her pigtails (although not literally). He liked that she gave as good as she got. Then when he got moved next to her in their psychology class; he couldn't help himself. She was just _so_ smart. She had ideas no one else did. She thought about things from different perspectives.

Then she'd asked him to prom. _She'd_ asked _him_. He figured it was because she knew he was too nervous to ask her. She was a little bit different: a little bit special.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" She commented quietly, taking it in. "All the lights and stuff."

"There ain't nowhere you'll find a better view." He said, taking her hand. She squeezed it tight as she settled her head on his chest "nothin' beats the New York City skyline."

"I don't know… the wheat fields back in Montana aren't too bad." She said softly..

"What's to see in a field of wheat? Other than wheat?" He commented. "Sounds...exciting."

"You sound just like my dad."

Before he could utter a response; they saw a wave of blue lights.

"_Shit_." She muttered. "Don't say anything, let me talk."

She sat up on the car and craned her neck round to see the officer walking towards them. Her eyes widened for a minute before letting out another curse word and then laid back down next to him.

"What!?" He whispered, "what's wrong?"

Before she had the chance to answer, the officer stood facing them shone his flashlight onto the two of them. _God this was a stupid idea!_

"Lucy!?"

"Hey Uncle Flack. How's it goin'" despite her words oozing with confidence, her voice gave her away. It was much more high pitched than usual.

He swallowed, as if this wasn't already bad. It was now three million times worse.

He was screwed. Big time.

"I suggest you two get down off that hood right now and begin to explain what the _hell_ you're doing."

—

Danny glanced down at his phone. He furrowed his brow as he realised he had eight missed calls. He pressed on the green icon and began scrolling.

Three from Ben- with an accompanying text message. _Pop, when are you home? I need help with my science homework. It's due tomorrow._

Danny rolled his eyes as he began to type out a message. _When did you get this homework? Huh? I might be home late buddy, call mommy. She's on her way home. She's stopping at the store first though for some cupcakes for sissy's bake sale. Let her take her shoes off before you bombard her alright? Love you kiddo_.

Within moments another message popped up. How did his kid type so damn fast?! He smirked as he began reading. _Okay so maybe I got it a week ago but I had an English paper due too. I tried calling her first but she didn't answer. Do you think she'll let me have a cupcake? I'll try her again. Thanks! Love you too Dad._

Danny smiled warmly at the message as he began typing out his own response: _You can try kiddo but I doubt it. Listen, I'm proud of you for doin' your homework of your own accord. Keep it up, this is much better, it's definitely what me and mommy expect… not slacking off like you were. More of this and we'll talk about you getting to go back on the baseball team, ok? Be good for mommy… See you later._ He pressed off the messages and went back to his missed calls. One from Mac but he'd seen him in the hallway and filled him in on his results he'd been enquiring about.

The next had been his wife. He'd also seen her as she was getting on the elevator. He'd been in the break room, refilling his coffee as he caught a glance of her. He hadn't seen her all day and missed her. He'd gone racing towards her, desperate for just thirty seconds with her. "Hey Montana!"

She'd turned and smiled at him. "Hey, I tried to call you."

"Phone's been in my pocket," he said by way of explanation. "You heading' out?" He'd asked, to which she nodded in response. "Good, Okay, so, I forgot to mention, Lydia needs stuff for a bake sale tomorrow. I found the letter screwed up at the bottom of her bag. I didn't get to the store before my shift started. She begged me not to tell you. Said somethin' about bein' grounded? I pretended not to know anything about it..."

She rolled her eyes. "These kids… I swear. Why do we keep having them? Between Ben and his grades and Lydia being a scatter brain... all I can say is thank god for Lucy!"

"Yeah well, we love them really." He shrugged, "plus the making them part is pretty fun. And come on; they're pretty cute kids."

"You only think that way that because they all look like me!" She smirked. "You can't get mad with them! Me however.., like lookin' in a mirror." She shook her head. "I think I finally understand how my dad felt!"

"You love those kids and wouldn't have them any other way and you know that." He prodded her nose.

"I know," she said softly. "So bake sale stuff. Do you think I'll get away with buying shop bought cupcakes? I know I'll be the worst mother ever, but I just can't bear the thought of starting a thousand batches of cupcakes right now…"

"I'm sure it'll suffice. She's lucky she's gettin' anythin'."

Lindsay had stood on her tiptoes. She had pressed a hand to his stomach, steadying herself as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "See you later. Be safe, love you."

"Love you too. Call me when you get home, k?"

"I will." She'd answered.

Which explained the second missed call from her

He cast his eyes to the final two. Flack? And two missed calls? He shrugged as he returned his friend's call. It didn't even ring a full time before Flack answered.

"The phone in your hand or something? You saw me two hours ago… what? You miss me already?"

"Danny, I uh, I got a bit of a situation."

Figuring it was about the case, Danny grabbed a note pad and pen. "Alright, go ahead. What did they say?"

"Uh, it's not about the case Messer. Some of my unis… they uh, they… shit-"

"Buddy; you're scaring me a little bit right now... what's wrong?"

"You know the day we've dreaded for years and years… it's here man, it's here."

"Flack? What the hell is going on?"

"It's Lucy, Danny… we picked her up. For uh, trespassing."

Danny dragged his hand down his face and pinched the bridge of his nose to release the sudden tension headache. "Don't tell me-"

"He's here."

"Keep her there, Flack. I'm on my way. Let me talk to Mac. Where are you?"

"I'll text it to you."

—

Flack ended the call with Danny and turned to look at Lucy. He silently shook his head at her as he headed towards her and her boyfriend. Flack scowled af him. Part of him couldn't help but love the look of terror on the kid's face. He didn't hate the kid, if he was totally honest, he actually kind of liked him. He was good for Lucy. Seemed to have his head screwed on. Kept good grades, no priors. Not even a parking ticket.

Lucy was a carbon copy of Lindsay in looks. Butter wouldn't melt. And boy did she use it to her advantage. He knew the next half an hour was going to be brutal. He'd have to fight with his uncle instincts as well as battling with his badge:

He'd watched this kid grow. He'd watched his friends, _best friends_, raise her. And they'd done a damn good job. She was a smart kid. Clever.

This though? This wasn't clever.

"Yo, Mini Montana." Flack said as he moved towards his goddaughter. "So I just got off the phone with your dear old dad."

"Ugh, Uncle Flack, couldn't you have just called my Mom?"

"Don't you even dare think about rolling your eyes at me, kiddo." He snapped at her. She hadn't even had the chance to roll her eyes, but he knew this kid inside out. From years of babysitting her, to years of _her_ babysitting his children. They'd spent christmasses, birthdays, hell, they'd all even been to a bar mitzvah together! He shook his head at the chocolate brown eyes. "And break your mom's heart? Nah, I made a promise to your old man about sixteen years ago… just never wanted to make good on this promise. I'm not happy about this, I hope you know that."

"But Uncle Flack, listen, we weren't doing anything bad. Just takin' in the view."

"You see that sign over there?" He pointed over her shoulder. "That clearly says no trespassing. Now I know you can read because I've bought you a book every year for your birthday for sixteen years and you read a poem you wrote at my wedding. Don't give me that crap. You knew what you were doing."

"We're not hurting anyone."

"You wanna tell your Dad that or shall I?" He barked. "Lucy, this isn't good, you can't do this. You're a good kid… what the hell were you thinking?"

"Sir? It was my idea."

"And you are?" Flack barked. Okay, so maybe he did know who the kid was. _Didn't mean it wasn't fun to watch his ass squirm._

"I uh, I'm uh," the kid exhaled and Flack stared pointedly at him. "I'm, I met you at the Messer's barbecue last year. I'm uh, i…"

"Uncle Flack, stop it you _know_ who he is."

"Don't recognise him." Flack deadpanned. "Or at least I won't once your father gets here."

"He's joking," Lucy said. "Uncle Flack; come on…"

"Nah, I think it's time you two started to do some explainin'" he folded his arms "starting with your name, kid."

—

Luckily Mac had waved him off, letting him take off. He'd even tossed him the keys to one of the department trucks.

He just didn't understand. Lucy was a good kid. She kept straight A's. She did AP classes. Her brother and sister looked up to her. How the hell was he going to explain this to them?

God that child of his was in trouble.

He sighed as he dialled Lindsay's number. He'd been putting the call off but he wanted to be the one to tell her. As it dialled; he took a deep breath.

"Hey honey," she singsonged down the phone. "Did you get off early?"

"Not exactly."

"Ah, bummer." She said "I'm just helping Ben with his homework. He said something about you telling him to ask me? Thanks for that… it's trigonometry."

"He told me it was science homework."

He heard Lindsay quizzing their son down the phone.

"So apparently our child doesn't know the difference between his math classes and science classes."

"Listen, I uh, I need to tell you something. Can Ben hear?"

"No… why, what's the matter Danny?"

"Don't freak out, okay?"

"Ben, go upstairs honey, I need to talk to daddy."

Danny could hear some protests from their son down the line. He couldn't help but smirk as he heard nothing from Lindsay in response to his protests. Danny knew exactly the glare his son was on the receiving end of. "Okay," She said a few moments later. "Danny you're worrying me; is everything okay?"

"I got a call from Flack. Listen, she's okay but he uh; he picked Lucy up with Zack about twenty minutes ago. They were trespassing or somethin'? Flack called. I'm on my way now. I don't have all of the details."

"What? They were leaving when I got home though? They said they were going to Walmart… I was expecting her back any minute."

"I think Flack is just tryin' to scare them. And if he hasn't; I certainly will when I get my hands on them."

"Danny," his wife warned him. "Come on, you were young once."

"Yeah well, I told you I wasn't happy about this. I'm not happy about it at all."

"What, the fact she's been caught trespassing or that she has a boyfriend?"

"Both." He snapped.

"But mostly…" Lindsay nudged.

"Mostly the fact she has a boyfriend." He thumped the wheel. "This ain't our kid Linds. She doesn't do shit like this!"

"That we know of," Lindsay said softly. "Danny you can't tell me your mom and dad knew everything you got up to. I know mine certainly didn't."

"Hell no!" He cried, "they knew nothin'. But Linds we haven't raised her like that. She knows she can talk to us; tell us things."

"Maybe your wild past is finally biting you in the ass." She giggled. "Listen, I know this is out of character for her and we need to talk to her about this but she's a kid Danny, she's our kid and she's a damn good one. She's a sweet, happy, kind, caring not so little girl anymore. I could count on one hand the amount of mistakes she's made in the last five years. We need to make sure she understands why it's wrong but don't go too hard on her."

"Gettin' soft in your old age, Montana?" He chuckled.

"No, I've just learnt over the years which battles to pick. Give her hell to begin with, make her understand she can't go around breaking the rules but just… tone it down."

"So I shouldn't go full cop mode on them?"

"Exactly." She said. "I'll talk to her when she gets home too."

"Alright I'm here, I'll see you in a little while?"

"Keep your head on," Lindsay reminded him

He chuckled as he hung up the phone. He put the car into park and took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._

—

"I got a good mind to tell your dad you just said that!" The car door slammed and Lucy smirked at her boyfriend.

"Lucy, what the hell?" He barked, shifting in his seat. With his hands restrained behind him; it was proving a little difficult. "Your dad is gonna kill me!"

"Oh relax," she said. Her voice wasn't convincing him though. He could tell she was scared, nervous. He'd been fortunate enough to stay on the good side of Lucy's parents. He got on really well with her mom: she was cool. She'd always made him feel welcome and he felt like he could talk to her, more so than his own mom sometimes. Lucy's dad however, that one was a little harder. The first time he'd ever met her dad; he'd pulled him to one side and explained to him that if he dared to hurt her, he'd have the entirety of the New York Crime Lab at his disposal to assist him in successfully hiding his body. He'd told him he had friends in high places that would willingly help him make it look like an accident. Sure, he'd smirked afterwards and Zack had assumed he'd been yanking his chain. But that conversation was feeling all too real right now. He respected Mr Messer and he'd do anything to _not_ be in this cop car right now.

He turned to look at his girlfriend. She too had handcuffs on. For some insane reason, she'd told the officer, who also happened to be her damn uncle _and_ godfather that she didn't believe for one second he'd cuff her like he'd threatened to.

_Boy how wrong she was!_ He hadn't hesitated for a second in cuffing her. He was quick! Before they knew it, they were being loaded into the back of the squad car.

Finally breaking the silence. Zack cleared his throat. "Do you think your dad is gonna be mad?"

"Probably." Lucy shrugged. "I dunno, I've… I guess this is the first time I've ever… I guess you were right." She was tripping over her own words which was so unlike her. She was usually so calm and collected.

"Listen, I'll tell him it was me, okay? It's no big deal. I'm sure it'll give him a reason to hate me even more…"

"But it was my idea!" She growled.

"So?" He shrugged. "It's ok."

He watched her turn to the side and then she sank lower in the seat. In the flashing blue light, Zack could see a figure moving towards them. A figure he most definitely recognised. They both looked at one another and swallowed.

_This was it…_

—

"You cuffed them?" Danny asked incredulously, accepting the key from Flack. "And there was Linds givin' me shit over the phone; ttellin' me to take it easy on them."

"Hey your kid told me I wouldn't do it… think the cocky Messer side of her came out for a minute or two. I just wanted to scare them a little bit. I ran his name, he's squeaky clean."

"I know." Danny sighed. "I used to run his name all the time."

"Danny…" Flack smirked.

"Don't for one second tell me you won't do the same with your girls, Don." Danny barked. "Now." He took a deep breath. "I need you to tell me truth ok?"

"Okay…"

"When you found them… they… what uh, what were they doin'?"

Flack laid a hand on Danny's arm. "They were laid on the hood of his car lookin' at the city lights. I swear to god. The only thing touching were their hands."

Danny nodded, relief washing over his face.

"She's a good kid. Danny."

"I know," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know I just…. god how did I end up with a sixteen year old?"

"Buddy, I ain't got a clue." Flack shrugged. "Where the last ten years have gone I couldn't even tell ya."

"Can I-?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Danny nodded and started to move towards the cop car that housed his apparent delinquent daughter and her boyfriend. He stopped before he reached the car and turned; pulling Flack into a hug. He squeezed him tight. "Listen, thanks. I uh, I appreciate you lookin' out for her."

"Hey, you do the same for my kids."

Danny nodded as he turned towards the cop car. He puffed his chest out and headed to the driver side. He opened the door and climbed in; putting on his best front. He shut the door and sat silently for a minute, he turned and absorbed the image in front of him.

He could tell that Lucy couldn't bear the silence any longer. "Daddy…"

"Do you have any idea how sick I feel, lookin' at you in the back of a cop car with your hands in cuffs? I swear to God Lucy, you better have a good explanation for this."

"Daddy, we-"

"Mr Messer, it was my idea…"

"Shut up, no, I told you not to say that." Lucy spat.

"I need the truth from you two. What the hell were you doing here?"

"Daddy I swear, we were just lookin' at the lights. I swear!"

Danny glanced between Lucy and her boyfriend. He arched his eyebrow, silently questioning him.

"We haven't - I wouldn't."

Danny nodded.

"Daddy, I swear, all we were doin' when Uncle Flack got here was holdin' hands. We just really wanted to do somethin' different. Somethin' excitin'. I know it had all those signs up about trespassin' and I probably shoulda known better but daddy, this is the first time I've ever done anythin' like this, I swear."

Danny licked his lips, trying his best to stay silent. He knew she was upset because she had slipped into her New York twang. With Lindsay's accent, it had kept all the kids' accents fairly neutral. They weren't strong New Yorkers by any stretch of the imagination. Ben probably the most. But Lucy? Every time she was stressed, worried or upset, the New York in her reared its head.

"Daddy, I swear to God it won't happen again."

Danny nodded. "Tell me the truth. Whose idea was it?"

"Mine," Lucy said, hanging her head. "Zack told me it wasn't a good idea. He actually said it a couple of times, he tried to get me to change my mind. I didn't listen."

"That true?" Danny asked Zack. He hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Mr Messer, can I just say… I swear to you that Lucy and I… we… I didn't… we…"

Danny cut his rambling short. "Look, you two boneheads are really lucky it was Flack who happened to find you. He's a hell of a lot nicer than some of the guys I work with. This is a no trespassing site for a reason. It's close to the airfield and it's dangerous. Not to mention we live in a city with a bunch of ravin' lunatics! Lunatics I have to deal with on a daily basis. If one of the guys I deal with on a daily basis saw the two of you here, they'd have no issue doin' things to you I don't even wanna think about. Lucy I expect a hell of a lot more outta you, kid. Somethin' says no trespassin', you respect that. Do you understand me?"

"I do."

"And you?" He turned his attention to Zack. "I'm sorry my bonehead of a daughter didn't listen to you, but the next time she suggests you do somethin' crazy, you need to stick to your instincts. Ok? I trust you to look after her and bringin' her here and not listenin' to your instincts ain't doin' that. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ok, so you're aware, I will be callin' your mom Zack, ok? It'll be up to her what your punishment is. As for you-" he turned to face his daughter, "I'm gonna need to talk to mommy to decide what to do about this."

She nodded.

"I'm disappointed in you both." Danny said softly. "I don't ever want to get called outta work again, is that clear?"

The teenagers both nodded.

Danny nodded in agreement. He opened the door to exit the cop car. He then opened Lucy's door and helped her out. Using the key Flack had already given him, he unfastened the handcuffs around her wrists. She naturally went to rub her wrists and he couldn't help but laugh internally at her actions. Zack then surfaced from the car and Danny unfastened his wrists also.

Danny handed the two sets of cuffs back to the uniformed officer and folded his arms. "Lucy, go wait in the car."

She nodded, stole a quick glance with Zack before sulking her way back to the car. Danny watched her as she approached her Uncle Flack. He wasn't sure what the exchange was but he had a pretty good feeling he could work it out. After a couple of moments; her hands snaked their way around Flack's mid section and he held her in a hug. He then ruffled her hair as she carried on walking to the truck.

Danny eventually turned his attention to Zack. "You need to go straight home, okay?"

Zack nodded in response and dug in his pocket for his keys. As he turned on his heel he paused for a moment. He turned back to Danny. "Mr Messer? I uh, I'm really sorry. I hope… I hope this doesn't change the way you think about me. I really do like Lucy, sir. I like her a lot. I know we're only kids but… I just want you to know that I wouldn't do anything to put her in danger or hurt her. I know you see a lot of that in your work and I… I just want you to know that I care about her."

"I know you do." Danny nodded, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder. "That's why I'm not beatin' your ass right now. Maybe next time you take her out, go do somethin' legal, alright?"

Zack smiled. "We will."

"Go home, Zack."

"I will." He paused for a moment. "Thanks Mr Messer."

Danny nodded in acknowledgement, making a mental note to tell the kid to stop calling him Mr Messer. And sir for that matter…

—

After a car ride in silence, Lucy lifted her head from where it had been resting against the window. As Danny killed the engine outside their house, she took a deep breath before unclipping her seatbelt. "Is mommy really mad?"

"I think she's upset. Don't think she's mad. Worried more than anythin' probably. You shouldn't have lied to her, Lucy. She thought you were at Walmart: what if something bad had happened? She wouldn't have known where you were." he hooked his finger under her chin to get her to look at him: "We love you and it's our job to keep you safe. You gotta let us do our job, honey, okay? Lyin' to us stops us from protectin' you."

Lucy nodded in response. "Daddy for the record… I'm really sorry."

Danny nodded, "and I appreciate your apology" he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Let's go talk to your mom, okay?"

Lucy nodded and opened the car door. She slammed it shut and began walking towards the front door. She took a deep breath as she opened it; Danny close behind her. They headed through their family home Lucy heading straight for her mother. As soon as they reached the living room, Lucy took off towards her and threw herself onto the couch, burying herself into Lindsay's side. Before Lindsay could even say anything, Lucy blurted out, "I'm so sorry, mommy." And burst into tears.

Lindsay glanced up at Danny'. He learnt against the doorframe, "_What did you say to her?_" Lindsay mouthed to him. "_I told you to be nice!_"

"_This is all her._" He said by way of explanation. He watched as Lindsay put her hand on Lucy's honey brown hair and stroked it softly, soothing her as she always had. He folded his arms across his chest as he watched Lindsay whisper undetectable things into Lucy's ear. Lucy's cries quickly became less dramatic and soon she sat with tear stained cheeks with her head resting on Lindsay's shoulder.

As close as Lucy and Danny were, somehow Lucy and Lindsay were even closer. They had an unbreakable bond that had done nothing but flourish over the years. Lindsay was the _best_ mother. She had far more patience, kindness, humour and diligence than he did. She wiped the tears, she mended the boo-boos, she gave the advice, she helped with the homework, she did the bake sales… she told the better stories, she used the funnier voices, she had the silly faces. She took them to soccer, baseball, ballet, swimming, gym… the list was endless. She was faultless. He adored her, as did their three children. Seeing her with his kids, _their_ kids, made him realise just how lucky he really was. She was _everything_ to these kids.

And to him.

He began his journey through the humble living room, filled with pictures, toys, books and everything else inbetween. He sat next to Lucy on the couch and reached over them, laying his arm over the back of the sofa. His fingers rested on Lindsay's arm.

"I can see you're very upset." Lindsay began softly. "Would I be right in thinking this has more to do with your conscience than what daddy said to you in the car?"

Lucy nodded tearfully.

"Do you understand why we expect more from you?" Lindsay asked. "You know why you can't go round trespassing, right?"

"I understand… I just, I don't know what…. I just… i…"

"Lucy, we were worried. A little bit disappointed and surprised but honey; we get it. We were young once, alright? Both daddy and I did some wild things when we were younger. Some of that stuff we did together…" she snuck a glance over to her husband. "I did things your Grandpa doesn't know about, just like daddy did things Nonna has no idea about. It's a part of growing up. You test boundaries. See how far you can go." She paused as she swept a strand of hair from her daughter's cheek. "It's just unlucky for you that most of your extended family make up the NYPD. We didn't do you many favours in that respect." This comment earnt a little giggle from their first born.

"We love ya." Danny added. "More than you know. You're special to us, Lucy, we've said it once and I'm sure we'll say it a thousand more times but you were a little gift that came at just the right time for me and mommy. We know you're a good kid. Just don't make a habit of doing stupid shit, ok?"

"Danny!" Lindsay squeaked. "I can't believe-"

"Oh please, when she saw me she had a million cuss words written all over her face: didn't ya?!"

Lucy smirked.

"See." Danny raised his eyebrows "told ya."

Lindsay rolled her eyes, she hooked her finger underneath Lucy's chin and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "We love you a lot. We want what's best for you."

"Am I grounded?"

Lindsay pursed her lips together and looked at Danny. "We probably need to talk about it but yeah, I think so honey."

Lucy nodded. "I'm sorry." She turned to Danny. "I'm sorry for getting you called out of work." She turned back to Lindsay. "I'm sorry for letting you guys down. I'm sorry I scared you guys."

"We appreciate your apology." Lindsay kissed Lucy's forehead.

"Listen, Ben needs help with his trigonometry homework. He's freakin' out because it's due tomorrow and he left it til the last minute again. Plus, your mom sucks at trigonometry."

"Uh, excuse me?" Lindsay implored before sighing. "Fine, alright… i suck at it."

Lucy nodded and stood up. She learnt down to press a kiss to Danny's cheek and then Lindsay's respectively. They watched her disappear up the stairs in silence and heard her knock before she went into her brother's room.

"_So how much shit are you in?"_

Lindsay rolled her eyes as she heard the curse word filtering down the stairs. "_Benjamin_…" she called out in the form of a warning.

"_Sorry_!"

Lindsay shook her head as she pulled her legs up onto the couch and nestled into Danny's side. She laid her head on his shoulder before seeking out his hand. She squeezed it tight and turned to face him. "Least she doesn't have nose piercings and body tattoos, right?!"

"Nah, that'll be Lydia." Danny smirked.

"Stop that!" She huffed. "Do you think we did ok? We weren't too soft on her, were we?"

"Nah," Danny said, settling into the couch. He slung his arm over Lindsay's shoulder pulling her close to him. "She's pretty upset with herself. I'd say it's a sign of good parentin'."

Lindsay nodded as she handed Danny the remote. He flicked the TV on and began to watch the Yankees highlights from earlier in the day. Only a couple of moments had passed before they heard the little footsteps of their tiniest daughter sounding in the hallway.

"Lydia Messer. I'm pretty sure it's _way_ past your bedtime." Danny called out to the little girl.

"But daddy, I didn't get to see you at all today!" She whined. "All day!"

He glanced over the couch and melted at the sight of his baby. Her hair was a hot mess, her long pyjamas were half way up her legs and one of her socks was missing. If ever a picture said a thousand words, this was it.

Lydia Messer was their baby, their wild child. Between her silly faces, her musical giggles, her inane questions, her scatter brain, her sloppy kisses, her tight hugs and not to mention her adorable little face, she kept both Danny and Lindsay on their toes. She completed their family perfectly.

Plus, Lindsay had finally got to name one of their kids…

"I still don't know why you're not asleep, young lady. Mommy put you to bed two hours ago."

Lydia grinned, cocking her head to one side. "I just really, really missed you!"

He glanced at Lindsay and sighed. _How could he say no to that face?!_

"Come here munchkin!" He said, patting the spare spot next to him on the couch. She quickly scampered towards her parents and threw herself onto the couch, squeezing in the minimal space between the both of them. She kicked and fussed to get comfy. Knocking Lindsay in the ribs. As she shifted again, her foot came dangerously close to smacking Danny's groin. Thankfully, after too many hits over the years, he averted the course of her little foot. He picked her up and squeezed her inbetween the two of them. "Sit still:" he told her and she nodded. She promptly laid her head on Danny's chest and put her thumb in her mouth, which Lindsay instantly removed and began stroking her hand instead, distracting her.

Not five minutes later, they heard more footsteps coming down the stairs. "Is that the Yankees game?" Ben enquired.

"Is your homework done?" Danny asked.

"Yeah Lucy helped me with the couple questions I had left." He nodded. "Can you check it in the mornin'?"

"Sure." Danny nodded. Ben closed the distance between the stairs and the couch quickly and settled next to Danny in the space where he'd originally suggested for Lydia to squeeze into. Moments after Ben had settled, Lucy appeared in her pyjamas. Lindsay moved her legs and patted the space on the couch next to her and Lucy was sat there in a heartbeat. She instantly cuddled up to Lindsay and laid her head on Lindsay's arm.

Danny glanced around at the masses of limbs and bodies around him. They had a ridiculous amount of seating in this room and every night; without fail; this is how they'd all end up. All squeezed onto one sofa, the smallest one ironically. Using his free hand, he ruffled the hair on Ben's head, and then Lydia's. He then reached across to Lucy and squeezed her knee affectionately.

The family of five fell into their comfortable silence as they all absorbed the Yankees game. Ben would make the occasional gasp, Lydia would ask her fifty thousand questions, all of which Lindsay would answer with all the patience in the world, whilst Lucy looked on, deep in thought.

Danny let out a long, contented sigh. Lindsay looked over at him and smiled lovingly. She then turned her attention back to tracing her fingers up and down Lydia's arm, soothing her back to sleep.

Sometimes they spent too much time at work. Sometimes they felt like they didn't know what the hell they were doing. Sometimes, they made it up as they went along; hoping for the best. Sometimes though, they knew they'd done a damn good job in raising their children.

They both knew how lucky they were to have all that they did. They'd come a long way since their early days. They'd done stupid things. With each other, to each other… they'd made their mistakes, learnt their lessons.

They had three beautiful, loving, happy children to show for it. It hadn't always been easy but would either of them change it? They glanced at each other and shared a smile.

Would they change anything? No was the answer. Not for anything in the world.

—

**A/N - Okay so... this story is absolutely definitely one thousand percent _nothing_ like I thought it would be when I first stsrted writing it… but I'm not mad about it at all. This could be one of my favourite future stories I've written!**

**Also, to add I feel that DL definitely would have had their Lydia… and well, I'm sorry but I love me a little nod to Snow Day in the form of Benjamin! I really, really enjoyed writing this one and hope you guys enjoyed reading it too! **

**Thanks for reading! **


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